The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1887-08-28

bed, like any inyalid---he'd tuken many
nap in mothers beds afore, n no
amount o. whippin' ID ever cured him
O tn trick, n so mother found him
there, the sickest bear you ever saw.
Well, that wuz tn last o. Bruno. TIL
rest O. tn family scd he made most I'M
common good eatin', bein' SO nice n
fat. but j never had tn heart T. find
out, m never had another pet b. ar. I"
"Were there any ranthers in the
woods where you lied, grandpaP"
asked one of the boys, after the bear
story had been well digested.
PLENTY, plenty O. painters, but they
didn't come round ter git acquainted
very ,ssach, though. One o. those
blamed varmints did come once. m we
had all we wanted, ef he didn't stay
long-that, is, till he begun ter stay,
cause he could help himself. One fall
father m mother left us young folks
alone, m went off ter tn next settle
ment ter Methodist quart'ly meetin',
m Civ my next oldest brother general
charge o. tn family. They wuz gone
three nights. We wuzn't afraid n
he'd purity good times keepin' house
'thou't amy bosses. But tn third
night, long bout midnight, we heerd
a cry like chiid's, N purity soon it
came closer n closer n Tige n Bose,
our two big dogs, they gunter bark N
make a big fus. Purity soon Abe, my
biggest brother, got up out o. bed N
sed he knowed that wuz painter come
up into tn clearin' ter git one O our
yung pigs, n fer his part he wuzn't
goin' ter stand no such thievin'. Eff
that painter wanted fresh pork he'd
got ter fight fer it. Pigs wuz pigs, l
tell ye, N them days n mighty scarce
N kept close-that's tn reason tn
pig pen WIZ SO close t. tn house.
wuzn't only small chunk o boy,
but / thought Abe was about right, n
| said I'd help. So we got down faith
er's big rifle from tn dcer-horns
over the iire-place-it w alters loaded
IN stepped out careful into the yard.
1t wuz bright moonlight. N we could
see TIL dogs iumpin' round under big
tree thet father'd left standing near TIL
house so s to give shade, their hair
jest standin' up straight, N both mad
s they could be. They wuz old hunters
hghters. we know'd they wuz
more II possum up met tree. IN
pig-pen wuz atween tn tree n til
mousse II Abe sed he knowcd they wuz
painter IN the tree, n piannIn ter
Jump down IN LII pen git one o tn
new Pigs In ola sow wuz awful ex-
cited n gnasllin her teeth n threat
MN "hat she Il 90 she only got
chahce. we crep along lew feet
from III mouse, II looked up IN til tree
purity careful, too-but didn't see
emmy INN for long time, till at last
ABE sea, all excited IKE; i see I'M! !
see I'M! pointed out to me, n
looked n on big limb Preached over
10 rus Tn mousse see two sparks, s
thought. furty soon saw long
black pody long tail to 1t, n TIL
painter wuz switchln' it jest like a
pig cat Abe he Jest gritted his
teeth n sided up to tn corner O. tn
mousse where one o TIL logs stuck out
where IL wuzn chopped IL when they
built IT, n laid tn old gun across it n
cooked 1t begun ter take aim
crep up ahind him n held my breath.
In dogs theyd got lots worse when
they saw us come out t help EN-. n
bounced round like they wuz lnjun-rub-
Der. dldn know TILL father told me
afterwards tibet them dogs did thetway
cause they wuz SO sharp t they knowed
Ell they didn't the palnter'd hoped onto
en- too quick, n they he'd sense enough
know that WASH what they wanted
jest then. Well, Abe he took long
sight waz holdin' my breath, n
jest bout tn time Ia begun to think
he wuzn't ever goln ter shoot N ia
never get my breath back, bang she
went! Down come somcthin' out O.
tn tree, whack! on the ground, no ten
feet away from us, n fore | could bat
my eyes tn two dogs ez onto it, n
they waz the biggest yeowlin', N
growlin', spittin', n scratchin', N
hghtlh you ever heard n your born
days. 1t Hooked like the whole clear
IN was 1ull o painter n dogs, n hair,
n fur, n claws Then the painter give
one big screen, n turned over n
kicked, n lay still, n the dogs come
over where we wuz,worse scared N we
thought they d be, lickin' their chaps
|